England's schools could have longer days and hire thousands of private tutors under imminent plans to help left-behind pupils catch up.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is expected to announce a major "catch-up" programme for England tomorrow after kids' schooling was derailed by coronavirus.

Boris Johnson has said the plan will be "massive" and stretch over the "summer and beyond".

Now the first - unconfirmed - details of the scheme have been reported.

The Guardian reports schools will be given a "multi-million" pound government fund to hire thousands of private agency tutors.

Boris Johnson has said the plan will be "massive" and stretch over the "summer and beyond" (
Image:
PA)

Under a year-long scheme, they would offer one-to-one and small group lessons to pupils who have fallen behind after months out of school.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail reports the "bolt-on" learning will take the form of sessions at the end of the school day.

That would mean while the school day wouldn't be formally extended, many pupils would be kept at school for longer.

That would come on top of the staggered arrival and finish times schools are already having to implement to maintain social distancing.

A Whitehall source told the newspaper: "The best place for children to learn is in a school environment, so it makes sense to try and do catch-up work at school rather than trying to do it through home learning.

"There has rightly been a lot of focus on the impact on disadvantaged children but all children have missed out on their education so we need a catch-up programme that is open to everyone."

A senior government source did not deny today's reports, saying only that they were "speculation".

The PM’s official spokesman declined to confirm details, but said: “It’s far to say we’re looking at a range of measures to help children make up for the time they’ve spent out of school.”

He added it will cover not just the summer period, but “September and beyond”.

It comes as the Daily Mirror today launches a campaign for the government to take urgent action to get all our children back in school.

Union leaders, medical and education chiefs are warning the poorest and most vulnerable children will struggle to close the attainment gap.

Prof Russell Viner, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said top doctors have a “very real concern” for children’s health.

A report by UCL's Institute of Education found two million children have done less than an hour a day of schoolwork during lockdown, amid mounting fears for kids' long-term chances.

More than 1,500 paediatricians have also signed an unprecedented open letter to the PM, calling for a clear plan for getting children back to school.

Teachers’ leaders warned yesterday that England’s schools would not be able to fully reopen after the summer holidays under current distancing rules, which require just 15 pupils in a class.

Teachers' leaders demanded public buildings are taken over for extra classroom space - saying the "maths just doesn't work".

And they warned children may still need to rely on "blended learning" - a mix of homeschooling and attending in person - beyond September.

Boris Johnson wants all England's children back in school from September after six months of coronavirus disruption.

But plans to bring in years R, 1 and 6 are mired in chaos, with a third of England's primary schools still not doing so by June 11.

And plans to bring back years 2, 3, 4 and 5 by the start of July had to be dropped after officials accepted there wasn't enough space.

Jon Richards, National Secretary at UNISON, said "you have to have facilities set up" and there were still “serious issues” around cleaning and canteens.

He added: "I’m hoping we’ll be open to reopen schools, as many as we can, in September.

"But it will depend to an extent on what the government says."